Entire cities could be cast into darkness as large swells of dust would mount into tidal waves, covering every inch for miles.Hooker, Texas County, Okla 1937 - From The Oklahoman archives

Seventy years after it was first published in April 1939, some still question whether John Steinbeck's controversial Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was written without true knowledge of Oklahoma.

Steinbeck's depiction of a Sallisaw family's plight during the Dust Bowl paints a woeful picture of the eastern Oklahoma town the Joad family left behind during the Dust Bowl.

The discrepancies of what is fact or fiction continue to be discussed today, and his portrayal of migrant farm workers has led to banning of the book through the years, with many publicly declaring the book to be obscene.

"People complained that it was the politics of the author," said Karen Bays, co-chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Oklahoma Library Association. "In Kern County (California), it was banned because they simply didn't like the way [migrant workers] were portrayed."

According to several Oklahoma librarians, the book has not been banned in many years, but "The Grapes of Wrath" remains important statewide. Sequoyah County Librarian Bethia Owens said that although the controversies of the book didn't lead to banning in Oklahoma, teachers and librarians have made personal decisions to remove it from their collections.

"We call it self-censorship," Owens said. "Today, we strongly discourage it (self-censorship) in every library and school."

With little to no usable soil, many farmers were helpless to prevent their equipment from being absorbed by the very earth that had taken everything else.
Original photo undated. Published 5/19/1976 in The Oklahoma City Times

In Sallisaw, residents have mostly embraced the book and its author with the passing of time. Until recently, a Grapes of Wrath festival was held annually. However, it ended because many residents strongly disagreed with Steinbeck's portrayal of poverty-stricken "Okies," a word made infamous in the novel.

The only hard feelings about the book are related to this and other discrepancies over what is true, Owens said. Although Steinbeck had his book's characters traveling to California for work, Owens said many migrant workers actually moved to Sallisaw to work and live.

"If he wanted to talk about pain and agony during the Depression here, he could have," Owens said. "But we were going through different things."

At a time when people in the West were struggling to get by, the book also became a catalyst for book banning and the fight for access to information.

When "The Grapes of Wrath" was published, there was no organized movement. However, there were librarians who believed free access to information was part of the First Amendment rights.

At a time when people in the West were struggling to get by, the book also became a catalyst for book banning and the fight for access to information.

When "The Grapes of Wrath" was published, there was no organized movement. However, there were librarians who believed free access to information was part of the First Amendment rights.

"It's essential to free speech," Bays said. "You can't express your opinion unless you're able to access the information from all points of view to help form it."

Buddy Johnson, Metropolitan Library System reference librarian, said keeping books such as "The Grapes of Wrath" available is essential to democracy.

"It's just not good to let powerful oligarchs tell us how to think and feel," Johnson said. "If you're allowed to ban this, what happens when they want to ban the books you love, or the Bible or the Koran?"

The Committee for Intellectual Freedom has no record of a challenge since 2002. Bays said "The Grapes of Wrath" is widely viewed today as an essential part of school curriculums and community libraries, whether the portrayals are realistic or not.

And did Steinbeck ever visit the state?

"We have looked and looked for proof he was actually here," Owens said. "If he was, he was probably just passing through."